Our good friend Elbert Hall casually
suggested that we pull a Halloween prank on old Gene Maverick.
Clifton
and I were always ready to listen to Elbert because we had schemed with
him before on some very interesting and successful projects. Gene
Maverick was just past middle-aged and lived alone on a small farm. He
appeared to be pretty prosperous and in good health, but some considered
him a little eccentric. His full decoration for Halloween consisted of a
stake about four feet high placed by the side of the road with a large
pumpkin impaled on the top of it. His house was about two hundred feet
from the road at the edge of a clearing that was bordered by thick
brush. A few hundred feet behind the thicket was his farm land. He grew
watermelons, pumpkins, a few feed crops for his animals and the usual
garden vegetables.

Elbert told us that since the thick brush was on both sides and
behind the house we would have a good place to hide for whatever trick
we decided to pull. We quickly began making plans. Gene had a small barn
a short distance east of the house and the old buggy that he used for
transportation was always parked in front. The two wooden shafts on the
front of the vehicle were turned all the way back and rested over the
front seat. In use the shafts came down and connected to the harness on
the sides of the horse with a wooden shaft on each side. These kept the
horse in place and provided better control of the carriage.A tall canvas top provided some protection from the sun and
occasional rain.

“We need to do something with the buggy,” I suggested. Elbert
thought it would be good to have it move across the front to the brush
on the far side.
Clifton
agreed and said we would have to get Mr. Maverick to come to the door
while it moved. We also decided that we needed some sort of ghost to
drive the buggy. A big tow sack painted white with an attached head
might do the trick and look weird enough in the dark. We decided on
that. Then came the problem of propelling the buggy across the front.

This problem was quickly solved by this group of problem solvers.
We would take a very long strand of old telephone wire and attach it to
the front of the shaft assembly with it lowered into driving position
and held up with a wire tied to the buggy top. Then the long wire would
be strung along the ground across the wide space and through the thick
brush. It would be curved through the thicket to the road and tied to
the saddle horn of a trusty pony. One of we three would then ride slowly
down the road, well out of sight from the house, and pull the horseless
carriage across the front. This feat would surely mystify old Gene
Maverick!

To get his attention we would saturate a rag with kerosene, put
it in a tin can and place it out by the road in front of the house ready
to light at the proper time. Then just after Gene turns the light out to
retire we would make a very loud and irritating noise of some sort. When
he came out to see what was going on he would see the kerosene fire by
the road and then the buggy would start moving across the front with the
ghost in the driver’s seat and no horse between the shafts. This was
our fool-proof plan.

The great night finally arrived, as great events do. After dark
and while the light in the house was still lit we quietly elevated the
buggy shafts and tied and strung the wire to pull the machine. The
painted sack was in place and would no doubt look weird in the dim light
from the kerosene fire. I was to ride old Aleck and pull the wire that
would move the buggy,
Clifton
was to light the kerosene and Elbert was to make the noise to get
Gene’s attention. When the light went out
Clifton
was to light the kerosene and lie down in the ditch by the side of the
road and while Elbert disappeared behind the barn I was to start the
long pull between the house and the road. The lighted kerosene would be
my signal to start.

Eventually the light in the house went out and
Clifton
lighted the signal fire. I started old Aleck down the road and waited
for the wire to tighten as the buggy crossed the yard. But the wire did
not tighten. It was obvious I was not moving the buggy! Before I could
worry about it I heard two loud gunshots and suddenly the whole sky was
filled with exploding and sparking fire works…rockets, roman candles
and other spectacular displays. I discarded the wire and headed back
toward the house. Old Aleck didn’t like the idea much but he
reluctantly carried me back.

When I arrived old Gene,
Clifton
, Elbert and several others were in the front area putting the fireworks
into use.
Clifton
’s flare was still burning but everyone seemed to have their own
matches. It was the most impressive fireworks display I had ever seen.

The joke was on us. Elbert and old Gene along with a few others
had conspired to pull an April fool joke on
Clifton
and me at Halloween time.

As usual there is a lesson here: “The best laid plans of mice
and men often go astray!” This also applies to kids trying to pull a
Halloween trick.